Decree Blog

An underlying issue across disputes regarding highly technical matters, such as defective construction work, a delay claim in an oil exploration agreement, or a technical disagreement regarding software development, is that whoever determines the outcome of the dispute has to understand not only the law, but the engineering or technical concepts as well. Litigation and arbitration in Oman overcome this issue using different methods. Litigation allows referring technical questions to an appointed expert who drafts a report to be considered by the judge, while arbitration allows the parties to appoint a technical expert to sit on the tribunal itself, as one of the individuals actually resolving the dispute.

This is a guest blog post written by Aatika Al-Hinai, Mais Al-Hajri, Malak Al-Kharusi, and Mohammed Al-Lawati as part of their Decree Fellowship group project in July 2026.

The Personal Data Protection Law (Royal Decree No. 6/2022) has been in force since February 2023. It is Oman’s first comprehensive data protection statute, and a clear step forward from the single chapter of the Electronic Transactions Law that previously governed the field. Across its 32 articles, the PDPL grants data subjects a genuine set of rights and places clear obligations on controllers, giving the Sultanate a solid foundation to build on.

This policy brief examines that framework through the lens of data subject rights and identifies three areas where targeted refinement would strengthen it. First, the right of access could be broadened so that a copy of one’s data comes with the context needed to judge how it is being used. Second, a limited set of lawful bases could sit alongside consent, freeing consent to do its real work of protecting higher-risk processing. Third, a personal route to compensation could run alongside the Ministry’s enforcement role. Drawing on comparators including the UK GDPR and the Saudi and UAE frameworks, each reform builds on what the PDPL already does rather than reworking it.

The most important word in Oman’s property market for foreigners is not a location, it is an acronym: ITC. Integrated Tourism Complexes are the key route for foreign property ownership in Oman. Examples of ITCs are Al-Mouj Muscat and Muscat Hills. The System of the Ownership of Real Estate in Integrated Tourism Complexes sets the ownership framework, and its executive regulation fills in the operational detail, outlining the licensing criteria a site must meet and the conditions attached to ownership.

This is a guest blog post written by Nouf Al-Hoqani, Rayan Al-Hasni, Zahra Al-Balushi, and Zayd Al-Harrasi as part of their Decree Fellowship group project in July 2026.

Artificial intelligence has advanced significantly in recent years. AI systems can now generate text, compose music, and create images and other works. These advancements have also raised significant legal concerns, particularly regarding intellectual property rights. AI developers often use copyrighted materials to train AI models, raising the risk that these models will create counterfeit or derivative works belonging to other people. This issue has not yet been addressed under Omani law: there is no specific legal provision or regulation governing the relationship between AI and intellectual property. By contrast, jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union have already begun to grapple with the problem and to explore potential solutions. Oman should therefore begin addressing this issue, drawing on the experience of these jurisdictions to inform its own approach.

For the first time in history, a personal income tax law is being introduced in Oman. Issued in June 2025, Royal Decree 56/2025 sets out the Personal Income Tax Law, a measure that will take effect as of 1 January 2028, giving individuals and employers multiple years to prepare. Before the executive regulation completes the practical details, it is important to comprehend the fundamental structure of the law, including who is subject to it, how the tax is calculated, and what it actually taxes.

The Labour Law by Royal Decree 53/2023 serves as the primary law governing private sector employment relationships throughout Oman. It sets out different routes that can cause an employment contract to come to an end, with each route having its own consequences (end-of-service gratuity, notice pay, and exposure to a claim for arbitrary dismissal). This piece outlines some of the grounds by which employment can be terminated.

The bulk of employees in Oman are aware of their entitlement to annual leave, but few realise the Labour Law actually spells out various different types of leave, each with its own rules on duration, pay, and eligibility. This article will set out the different types of leave highlighted under the Labour Law of 2023, the calculations of entitlements for all employees, and the conditions attached to them.